Squamish Elks No. 119

Our Membership The Elks of Canada is the largest, all-Canadian, fraternal organization in Canada with approximately 12,000 members in over 250 locations throughout the country. Founded in British Columbia on September 26, 1912, and incorporated under an Act of Parliament, May 1913, the Elks motto is “Promoting and Serving Community Needs”. In 1998 the Elks opened their doors to both men and women. Our auxiliary, the Royal Purple of Canada, has approximately 160 Lodges and 3,300 members. Service to Others The Elks are recognized for their service to children with hearing impairments through their national charity, Elks and Royal Purple Fund for Children. National Charity The National Charity of the Elks and Royal Purple of Canada was founded in 1956 as the Elks Purple Cross Fund. In 1998 the name was changed to the Elks and Royal Purple Fund for Children. The Fund has been extremely effective in personal assistance to individual children (to the age of 19) with special needs and developing and supporting ongoing clinical programs across Canada in the area of speech, hearing and communication disorders. The quality of life that many children, and in some cases, whole communities enjoy can be either directly or partly attributed to projects funded through the backbone of the Elks – our local Lodges. Each year the Elks provide over $15 million through ongoing local, provincial, and national programs. Lodges are our Strength Our Lodges are the strength of the Elks of Canada. Our charitable activity starts at the local Lodge level with fundraisers, community projects and a host of other activities. And the purpose of all this effort is to simply make our communities a better place to live. That’s what the Elks do. This doesn’t mean that the Elks are all work and no play. In fact each Lodge, whether it has licensed facilities or rented rooms, finds ways to entertain its members. Activities such as card parties, darts, curling and bowling outings and pot-luck dinners help them to entertain themselves after working for their communities. National & International Recognition In 1987 the Elks were awarded the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) Award for Distinguished Service -- the first time the award had ever been given outside the US. In 1999 the Elks and Royal Purple of Canada were awarded the Consumer Advocacy Award from theCanadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (CASLPA). Founded: 1912 Motto: Promoting and Serving Community Needs Mission Statement: A national fraternal and charitable organization promoting and serving community needs through local Lodge volunteers. Vision Statement: To be the most progressive family focussed organization in Canada, meeting community and member needs and expectations. Members: 12,000 (approximately) Lodges: over 250 Convention: July 16-18, 2013 Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada National Headquarters: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada